More female divers1972 was taken as the starting point for the study because that was when formal regular reporting of Australian scuba fatalities began. In the early period from 1972–1999 there were 236 deaths, while the shorter 2000–2021 period saw 194 fatalities. Of most significance is that the median age of diving fatalities rose considerably between the periods, from 33 to 47, as the existing diving population aged. In the earlier period 11% of casualties had set out solo-diving, and only 17% of victims had been accompanied by a buddy during the fatal incident. Failure to use guidelines in silty caves or wrecks led to 10 deaths in the earlier period.